Man Of The Year - Robin Williams, Lewis Black

Man Of The Year

Starring: ROBIN WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, LAURA LINNEY, LEWIS BLACK

Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA

In light of the up and coming inauguration of Barack Obama, not to mention the perpetual pistol-whipping over the head by the sensationalist psychos known as the media, I suppose that it is only natural that my mind has turned to the grand arena of incompetence that we call "politics". I started thinking about the political movies I have seen over the years. Given my general disdain of politicians in reality, I found myself pleasantly surprised that some of the best movies I have seen were about the leaders of the world. This posting is to be the first in a small series of movie reviews regarding politicians and leadership. So let's just go ahead and start with Man Of The Year.

Man Of The Year looked promising when I saw the previews for the theatrical release, but I was reluctant to go see it. Much as I love Robin Williams, and I positively worship at the alter of Lewis Black, I was still worried that the movie would be heavy handed in the whole political ethics department. “Political Ethics”…now THAT is an oxymoron. But, I digress.

Now that the movie is out on DVD, I took it upon myself to watch it, and did my best to keep my expectations in check. It was the damnedest thing. When I wasn’t looking, I found myself enjoying the movie.

The premise of this flick is simple. A Jon Stewart-esque comedian who does the fake news, runs for president as an independent candidate. He makes a good enough showing to be added the ticket, and whaddya know? He wins the presidency. The first presidential election where all votes were placed electronically on a computer system, and a comedian wins. Can you guess how that happened? That’s right…a computer glitch. Enter Laura Linney's character, who works for the software company that wrote the program. She discovered the glitch before election day and told her boss, who promptly had her drugged, causing her to flip out in the company cafeteria and it lands her in the hospital. This was the one portion of the movie where they jumped the shark…just a little bit…because let’s face it, something that big…people will kill over it…and would have killed her in a heartbeat.

Naturally, no one believes our heroine, except for the new President Elect played by Robin Williams. So, what is the right thing to do? As the President, he could make the changes that American’s have been asking for. He hasn’t been bought out by special interest groups, he is not tied down by party loyalty, and he genuinely wants to make things better. But the problem is ... he wasn’t elected. And he knows it.

First and foremost, he’s an American and a patriot. So, the question becomes, “Is it right to go ahead and be the leader of the free world and take a shot at making a real difference, or do you speak up because as an American, you don’t screw with the voting process, because then it would no longer be a government by the people, for the people?” Then, of course, there is always the little matter of having proof of the flub. It’s what happens when the government gets involved with big business.

Yes, this is a morality tale. It gently nudges you towards the ramifications of the actions of the people in power. Their hubris is infinite…and will be to their and our own detriment. This movie is worthy of note. It’s not too heavy handed and it encourages you to take a moment and truly look at the people in power, to speak out and be heard, and to do whatever needs to be done to make the government what it was always supposed to be, but has not been for a very long time…a government by the people, for the people. Forget about the “issues” like gay marriage and focus on the things that matter, like the education crisis in our country. Alright. I will get off of my soapbox now.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars, for its morality and humor, but it did drag a little in places. It’s watchable, and it points out that it would behoove our leaders to take note of what the people truly want. It would also behoove our citizens to take note of what our “leaders” are doing. This is an educational movie as well as entertaining, and I do think it should be shown in political science and philosophy classrooms all across the country. If nothing else, it is an excellent conversation starter.

Review of 'Return To Me'

Return To Me

This is a very sweet movie. And when I say “sweet”, I mean it in a caramel popcorn and hot chocolate kind of way. The premise is this: A man (David Duchovny) who is deeply in love with his wife, Elizabeth, who was also his high school sweetheart, loses her in a nasty car accident. A year later he meets Grace, played by Minnie Driver, and they have instant chemistry, but it turns out that she had a heart transplant a year ago and the heart that she got was her new love’s dead wife’s. I know, it sounds very macabre but it really is a beautifully told story, heart warming and funny.

The cast includes Carrol O’Conner as Minnie Driver’s Irish grandfather, Robert Loggia as her Italian uncle (these two men operate what I suspect is the only Italian-Irish restaurant in history…tell me where else you can order ravioli with a side of boiled cabbage), Bonnie Hunt (who also co-wrote and directed the movie as well os sprinkling her real life family members throughout the movie) as Grace’s best friend, Jim Belushi, David Alan Grier and Joely Richardson has a cameo as Elizabeth.

There is genuineness in the characters, but at the same time, there is a fairytale quality to it that makes the movie that much more endearing. Now I can hear the guys out there saying “Oh, this is a chick flick.” But don’t get too judgmental because every guy that I know who has seen it, loved it and most of them went out and bought it “for the woman” in their lives, who usually haven’t seen it…and men don’t usually buy a woman a “chick flick” that the woman hasn’t specifically asked for. Guys, hear me now, and understand me….GIVE THIS MOVIE AS A GIFT!!! Christmas, Valentine's day, Mother's day, birthdays, anniversaries, whatever. Or just get it because it is really good and definitely worth watching more than once.

My Review of House MD

I started watching House MD. midway through the first season. I am hooked. It was the first time in a long time that I had the feeling the executives at Fox weren't complete idiots. Aside from the show 24, there was nothing much happening on Fox in my opinion.

Then I was blessed to be introduced to Dr. Gregory House, M.D. who turned out to be the most arrogant, sarcastic, cruel, and bitter schmuck to ever wear the white jacket on television. Dr. Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce would have picked up a gun and shot him within five minutes of meeting him. And I love him. While he is all of the negative things I have mentioned, Dr.House is brilliant. He is brilliant, damaged, angry and annoyed with the world at large.

If you have never seen the show, let me give you an overview. The cane wielding Dr.House is the head of a small team of young doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating the patients that other doctors have failed to correctly diagnose or help. They solve the medical mysteries, and are quite effective at it. House, in the process of helping his patients, tends to drive his staff, as well as his best friend and the hospital Chief Of Staff, to the verge of insanity. He is a pill popping, genius and lets everyone know it. And at his core, he has a heart. He hides it well, but it is there.

In the midst of his brilliance and sarcasm of Olympian proportions, he either does the wrong thing for all of the right reasons, or he does the right thing for all of the wrong reasons. What you see is what you get. And what you see, for the most part, is a mess. And you root for him. Every week, you sit there and know that if he was your boss, you and everyone you work with would rise up and slay him, but yet, you are on his side...even when he is wrong.

Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays Dr. House, delivers this character to us with what appears to be seamless ease. The British born actor shows no trace of his British accent on the show and for those unfamiliar with him, you would not readily guess that he made most of his bread and butter doing comedy, often playing the buffoon. He has fantastic comedic timing and transitions into serious gravity in a blink of an eye… and you go with him. He takes you by the hand and shows you the journey that House is on, and while House hides his heart and feelings to his co-works, you have the sense that he has opened it up to you. Hugh Laurie lays House bare for all of the viewers each week while at the same time keeping him cloaked to the characters surrounding House.

The writing on this show is sharp, witty and shameless. House says and does what the rest of don't or won’t. He rarely pulls his punches, he is crass, and he is alone. While he doesn't come right out and say "why me?", you can feel him saying it with every vicodin he takes, every patient he treats, every sarcastic comment he delivers and every outlandish stunt he pulls to get his own way. There is a fearlessness to the way he practices medicine that is only overshadowed by his fear of personal feelings and relationships.

House MD, while outrageous, is intense, solid and takes no prisoners. It is worthy of your time.